TEACHING ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION TO THE …3).pdfTeaching English Pronunciation to the Fifth Grade...

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TEACHING ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION TO THE FIFTH GRADE STUDENTS OF SDN TEMPURAN I,

SIMO, BOYOLALI

FINAL PROJECT REPORT

Submitted as a Partial Requirement in Obtaining Degree in the English Diploma Program, Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts,

Sebelas Maret University

By:

Dewi KusumawatiC9306031

ENGLISH DIPLOMA PROGRAMFACULTY OF LETTERS AND FINE ARTS

SEBELAS MARET UNIVERSITYSURAKARTA

2009

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APPROVAL OF THE SUPERVISOR

Approved to be examined before the Board of Examiners,

English Diploma Program, Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts


Title : TEACHING ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION TO THE

FIFTH GRADE STUDENTS OF SDN TEMPURAN I,

SIMO, BOYOLALI

Name : Dewi Kusumawati

NIM : C9306031

Supervisor

Yusuf Kurniawan, S.S., M.A. Supervisor

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APPROVAL OF THE BOARD OF EXAMINERS

Report Title : TEACHING ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION TO THE

FIFTH GRADE STUDENTS OF SDN TEMPURAN I,

SIMO, BOYOLALI

Student’s Name : Dewi KusumawatiNIM : C9306031Examination Date : May 28, 2009

Accepted and Approved by the Board of Examiners,English Diploma Program, Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts


The Board of Examiners:

1. Drs. Bathoro, M.S., M.A. Chairman NIP. 130 529 731

2. M. Farchan, Md.S.Ag., M.Ag. ( …………………) Secretary NIP. 132 309 950

3. Yusuf Kurniawan, S.S., M.A. ( …………………)Main Examiner NIP. 132 231 475

Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts,Sebelas Maret University

Dean,

Drs. Sudarno, M.A.NIP 131 472 202

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MOTTO

For with God nothing shall be impossible.(Luke 1:37)

Eliminate the impossible and whatever remains,however improbable, must be the truth.

(Oliver Wonder Holmes)

Life is a battle. Face it and win it. Live a life victoriously.

(The writer)

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DEDICATION

This final project report is proudly dedicated to:

My Lord, Jesus Christ

My Parents

My Brother

My Relatives

Myself

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PREFACE

This final project report is entitled “Teaching English Pronunciation to the

Fifth Grade Students of SDN Tempuran I, Simo, Boyolali. It is submitted as a

partial requirement in obtaining degree in the English Diploma Program, Faculty

of Letters and Fine Arts, Sebelas Maret University. The reason for choosing the

title was because there were many mistakes made by the students when

pronouncing English words. So, the writer thought that it would be crucial and

beneficial to teach them the basics of English pronunciation.

In short, this final project report tries to describe the process of teaching

English pronunciation, to find out the problems faced by the students, and to give

solutions to the problems. By doing those, it is hoped that the English

pronunciation mastery of the fifth grade students can be achieved or at least can

be improved.

The writer realizes that this final project report is far from being perfect.

Therefore, the writer widely accepts any suggestions and criticisms given for the

sake of betterment.

Finally, the writer is grateful to all people who have contributed to the

making of this final project report and hopes that it will be useful for all readers.

Surakarta, May 18, 2009

The Writer

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First of all, I would like to offer my highest gratitude to my Lord, Jesus

Christ, for giving me the strength and His blessing so that I am able to finish this

final project report.

I also wish to acknowledge a great debt to:

1. The Dean of the Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts, Sebelas Maret University,

Drs. Sudarno, M.A.

2. The Head of English Diploma Program, Sebelas Maret University, Yusuf

Kurniawan, S.S., M.A. Your English and your leadership is great to me.

3. My academic supervisor, Drs. S. Budi Waskito, M.Pd. I thank you so much

for your guidance and your direction during my study. You have been my

funniest lecturer ever.

4. My supervisor, Yusuf Kurniawan, S.S., M.A. I am so grateful to you for your

time, your guidance, and your direction in the making of this final project

report.

5. All of the English Diploma lecturers. Thank you for teaching me and for

sharing your knowledge with me.

6. All of the administration staff of English Diploma Program, especially to Mrs.

Heny. Thank you for all your help during my study.

7. The headmaster of SDN Tempuran 1, Simo, Boyolali, Subandi, S.Pd. I am

indebted to you for giving me the opportunity to have my job training in your

school.

8. The English teacher of SDN Tempuran 1, Simo, Boyolali, Mrs. Ari Yuli

Hantin. Thank you for your guidance during my job training.

9. All teachers of SDN Tempuran 1, Simo, Boyolali. I do thank you for your

kindness and hospitality.

10. The fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students of SDN Tempuran 1, Simo,

Boyolali. Thank you for accepting me to teach you all during the job training.

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11. My beloved father and mother. I offer my profound gratitude to you both for

supporting me during my study, for being patient with me, and for your

unconditional love to me.

12. My beloved brother. Thank you for being a good brother to me. I will always

pray for you.

13. My big family: my grandmother, my uncles, my aunts, my nephews and

nieces. My life is more complete and more beautiful with you all around me.

14. All of my friends in church. Thank you for being with me in times of troubles

and thank you so much for all your prayers.

15. All of English Diploma students, especially my friends in class A. I am happy

to be your friend and to have you all as my friends. God bless you all.

16. All of my friends in “Noventi” boarding house. It has been wonderful to be

with you all in the last three years. Thank you for your kindness to me.

17. All parties helping me with the making of this final project report.

Surakarta, May 18, 2009

The Writer

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ABSTRACT

Dewi Kusumawati. 2009. Teaching English Pronunciation to the Fifth Grade Students of SDN Tempuran 1, Simo, Boyolali. English Diploma Program, Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts, UNS.

This final project report is written based on the job training that has been done by the writer for 100 hours in SDN Tempuran 1, Simo, Boyolali. This final project report tries to describe the process of teaching English pronunciation to the fifth grade students, to find out the problems faced by the students, and to give solutions to the problems.

The data of this final project report were collected through observation, interview, and library study. The observation was done in class while the process of teaching and learning was taking place. The interview was done to the English teacher and the fifth grade students. The library study was emphasized in some documents such as teaching materials and books from the library. The methodology used by the writer was the Audio-lingual method which was thought to be the most appropriate method because it relied heavily on drills to form habits. The drills were by repeating words or sentences after the teacher. Consequently, students got accustomed to pronouncing English words correctly. Moreover, the writer taught them systematically based on the lesson plan containing four steps, namely Motivating Strategy, Presentation Strategy, Skill Practice, and Assessment. Motivating Strategy was used to arouse the students’ motivation toward the material. Presentation Strategy was used to give explanations concerning the day’s lesson. Skill Practice was used to give more opportunities for students-centered learning such as playing games. Assessment was used to assess the final outcome of the lesson.

The writer found out that the teaching of English pronunciation using Audio-lingual method and lesson plan were quite successful. From her observation, it could be concluded that the problems faced by the fifth grade students in learning English pronunciation were from the students’ difficulties in pronouncing English sounds and words, from the limited materials and facilities, and from the low student’s interest and motivation. The solutions on the students’ difficulties in pronouncing English sounds and words are by memorizing and practicing pronouncing English sounds and words as many as possible. The solutions on the limited materials and facilities are by providing more interesting materials and more facilities such as tape recorders and televisions to support the process of teaching and learning English, especially in learning English pronunciation. While the solutions on the low students’ interest and motivation come from the teacher who should have the ability to make interesting classes and the students who should be highly motivated for the sake of their own success in mastering English pronunciation.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title ................................................................................................................. i

Approval of the Supervisor ............................................................................. ii

Approval of the Board of Examiners.............................................................. iii

Motto..............................................................................................................iv

Dedication .......................................................................................................v

Preface............................................................................................................vi

Acknowledgement .........................................................................................vii

Abstract ..........................................................................................................ix

Table of Contents.............................................................................................x

Table of Pictures ........................................................................................... xii

Table of Tables ............................................................................................ xiii

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION .....................................................................1

A. Background.........................................................................1

B. Objectives...........................................................................3

C. Benefits...............................................................................3

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW .........................................................5

A. Teaching .............................................................................5

B. Learning .............................................................................6

C. Teaching Method ................................................................7

D. Teaching English Pronunciation..........................................8

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E. Teaching English to Young Learners ................................10

CHAPTER III: DISCUSSION .......................................................................12

A. The Description of SDN Tempuran 1 ................................12

B. The Job Training Activities ...............................................15

1. Class Observation .......................................................15

2. Lesson Plan.................................................................16

3. Teaching and Learning Process ...................................17

C. Teaching English Pronunciation........................................19

1. Motivating Strategy.....................................................19

2. Presentation Strategy...................................................20

3. Skill Practice ...............................................................26

4. Assessment .................................................................28

D. The Problems Faced by the Students in Learning

English Pronunciation .......................................................29

E. The Problem Solutions......................................................31

CHAPTER IV: CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS ..............................33

A. Conclusions ......................................................................33

B. Suggestions.......................................................................36

BIBLIOGRAPHY..........................................................................................38

APPENDICES...............................................................................................39

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TABLE OF PICTURES

Picture 3.1 Someone’s Condition ...................................................................27






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TABLE OF TABLES

Table 3.1 The Map of SDN Tempuran 1 ........................................................13

Table 3.2 The Structural Organization of SDN Tempuran 1 ...........................14

Table 3.3 Patterns of Simple Present Tense 26

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background

English as the main language for international communication has an

important role in Indonesia and many other countries. It is also the main language

of many books, newspapers, airports, science, technology, films, and so on.

English has become the most widely-used language in the world. People who do

not understand English can be left behind because it is highly required to face the

world’s globalization and it is often needed to fulfill the requirement of English-

speaking capability in the world of work. Therefore, people should learn to

communicate in English because it has become an international language.

Considering the importance of English, English should be learned as early

as possible. The government of Indonesia has made the right decision to pay

attention to this case intensively by having English curriculum taught to students

since the early period of elementary school. The plausible reason is because the

younger a child learns a foreign language, the easier and the better the child will

master it. So, elementary school is the right place to begin the teaching of English.

In learning a new language, elementary students are usually introduced to

lists of vocabularies. At the same time, vocabulary is always related to

pronunciation. So, it can be said that vocabulary and pronunciation are one

package to learn. In the process of teaching and learning English, a teacher needs

to be sure that his or her students can be understood when they speak and the

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students need to be able to say what they want to say if they want to be

understood. Students who are not taught to use correct pronunciation in

elementary school tend to make many mistakes in pronouncing English words

until they turn adult. So, it is very important for students to master the basics of

pronunciation which is made up three areas namely sound, stress, and intonation.

The writer was interested to have the job training in SDN Tempuran 1

Simo, Boyolali because in this school, English lesson has been given to students

from the first until the sixth grade. Although she taught English to the fourth,

fifth, and sixth grade students, she wanted to focus on the fifth grade students for

the final project because based on her observation, the fifth grade students made

many more mistakes in pronouncing English words rather than the fourth and the

sixth grade students. So, it would be challenging to apply the pronunciation

teaching to them.

In teaching English to the fifth grade students of SDN Tempuran 1, Simo,

Boyolali, the writer found that many students made mistakes in pronouncing

English words, even for easy vocabularies they have already known and

memorized in their mind from their previous lesson such as mango and orange.

The writer noticed that the major problem was from their incorrect teacher’s

pronunciation. It was obvious that the students imitated the way their English

teacher pronounced English words. So, it was possible that their English teacher

did not have sufficient pronunciation skill. If the teacher and the students are not

aware of the problem, mispronouncing English words can become a habit for both

the teacher and the students and can end up as a fossilized error which is hard to

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be corrected. Therefore, it was thought that it would be very beneficial to teach

the basics of English pronunciation to the fifth grade students of SDN Tempuran

1, Simo, Boyolali.

Based on the job training experience and findings above, this final project

is entitled “Teaching English Pronunciation to the Fifth Grade Students of

SDN Tempuran 1, Simo, Boyolali”.

B. Objectives

Based on the background above, the objectives of this report are

formulated as follows:

1. To describe the teaching of English pronunciation to the fifth grade students of

SDN Tempuran 1, Simo, Boyolali.

2. To find out the problems faced by the students in learning English

pronunciation.

3. To give solutions to the problems faced by the students in learning English

pronunciation.

C. Benefits

The writer hopes that the results of this final project will be beneficial to:

1. SDN Tempuran 1, Simo, Boyolali.

This final project report is expected to give useful input to the English teacher

and the students of SDN Tempuran 1 in improving their quality and their

English proficiency, especially in English pronunciation.

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2. English Diploma Students.

It is expected that this final project report can give contribution to the students

of English Diploma Program as additional knowledge about the teaching of

English pronunciation to elementary students.

3. Other readers.

It is also expected that this final project can give more knowledge to other

readers reading this final project report.

CHAPTER II

LITERATURE REVIEW

A. Teaching

According to Oxford Elementary Learner’s Dictionary, “Teaching is to

give somebody lessons, to tell or show somebody how to do something.” (Oxford,

2001:369). In accordance to that, Longman Active Study Dictionary gives two

definitions on the meaning of teaching: “to give lessons in a subject at a school or

college, and to show someone how to do something.” (Addison Wesley Longman,

1998:685). In short, from the definitions above, teaching can be concluded as to

give lessons or to make someone else understand about something.

Another definition comes from Anderson and Burns in Elliott (et.al.).

They define teaching as “an interpersonal, interactive activity, typically involving

verbal communication, which is undertaken for the purpose of helping one or

more students learn or change the ways in which they can or will behave.”

(Anderson and Burns in Elliott (et.al.), 1999:6)

Moreover, Brown in his book Principles of Language Learning and

Teaching defines teaching as “showing or helping someone to learn how to do

something, giving instructions, guiding in the study of something, providing with

knowledge, causing to know or understand.” (Brown, 2007:7)

From all the definitions of teaching above, it can be concluded that

teaching is a process with some activities done by teachers to their students such

as giving lessons, transferring knowledge, guiding, and motivating them. In

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teaching activities, teachers are not passive but active. Therefore, students taught

can get more knowledge and are gradually affected to change their behavior.

B. Learning

According to Oxford Elementary Learner’s Dictionary, learning means

“to find out something, or how to do something, by studying or by doing it often.”

(Oxford, 2001:204). While according to Longman Active Study Dictionary, there

are three definitions of learning: “to get knowledge of a subject or skill by

studying or doing it; to find out information or news by hearing it from someone

else; to realize that something is important, and change the way you behave

because of this and get to know something so well that you can easily remember

it.” (Addison Wesley Longman, 1998:380). From the definitions above, learning

may be defined as getting more knowledge by studying and changing the way we

behave because of what we have learnt.

Brown in his book Principles of Language Learning and Teaching

breaks down the components of the definition of learning as follows:

1. Learning is acquisition or “getting”.

2. Learning is retention of information or skill.

3. Retention implies storage systems, memory, cognitive, organization.

4. Learning involves active, conscious focus on and acting upon events outside

or inside the organism.

5. Learning is relatively permanent but subject to forgetting.

6. Learning involves some form of practice, perhaps reinforced practice.

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7. Learning is a change in behavior. (Brown, 2000:7)

Moreover, according to Stephen B. Klein in his book Learning Principles

and Applications, learning can be defined as “an experiential process resulting in

a relatively permanent change in behavior that cannot be explained by temporary

states, maturation, or innate response tendencies.” (Klein, 1996:2). This definition

of learning has three important components. First, learning reflects a change in the

potential of behavior. Second, changes in behavior due to learning are relatively

permanent. Third, changes in behavior can be due to processes other than

learning. (Klein, 1996:2)

From all the definitions of learning above, it can be concluded that

learning is a process involving some activities done by learners such as studying

or practicing something so that we know more about it or know how to do it. That

is why, learners are supposed to be active and persistent to achieve the maximum

benefit offered from it. Learning is also essential to change the way we behave.

C. Teaching Method

Anthony in Celce-Murcia defines method as “a set of procedures, i.e., a

system that spells out rather precisely how to teach a second or foreign language.’

(Anthony in Celce-Murcia, 2001:5)

According to Brown in his book Teaching by Principles: An Interactive

Approach to Language Pedagogy, “method is a generalized set of classroom

specifications for accomplishing linguistic objectives.” (Brown, 2001:16). From

his book, there was a method used by the writer to teach English pronunciation to

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the fifth grade students of SDN Tempuran 1, Simo, Boyolali, namely Audio-

lingual method. The characteristics of the Audio-lingual method are:

1. New material is presented in dialogue form.

2. There is dependence on mimicry, memorization of set phrases, and over

learning.

3. Structures are sequenced by means of contrastive analysis and taught one at a

time.

4. Structural patterns are taught using repetitive drills.

5. There is little or no grammatical explanation.

6. Vocabulary is strictly limited and learned in context.

7. There is much use of tapes, language labs, and visual aids.

8. Great importance is attached to pronunciation.

9. Successful responses are immediately reinforced.

10. There is a great effort to get students to produce error-free utterances.

11. There is a tendency to manipulate language and disregard content.

From the characteristics mentioned in the Audio-lingual method above, the

writer decided that this kind of method was the most suitable and effective method

to be used to teach English pronunciation.

D. Teaching English Pronunciation

According to Longman Active Study Dictionary, there are two definitions

of pronunciation: “the way that a language or word is pronounced; the way

someone pronounces a word or words.” (Longman, 1998:685)

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In addition to it, Dalton and Seidlhover in their book Pronunciation define

pronunciation in general terms as “the production of significant sound in two

senses. First, sound is significant because it is used as part of a code of a particular

language. In this sense, we can talk about pronunciation as the production and

reception of sounds of speech. Second, sound is significant because it is used to

achieve meaning in contexts of use. In this sense, we can talk about pronunciation

with reference to acts of speaking.” (Dalton and Seidlhofer, 1995:3). From the

definitions above, it is clear that pronunciation is the way a word is pronounced

by producing sounds.

Wong in Celce-Murcia (et.al.) aptly points out that the teaching of

pronunciation “is not exclusively a linguistic matter.” So, we need to take into

consideration such factors as our learners’ ages, exposure to the target language,

amount and type of prior pronunciation instruction, and perhaps most importantly

their attitude toward the target language and their motivation to achieve

intelligible speech patterns in the second language.” (Wong in Celce-Murcia

(et.al.), 1996:14)

Mastering pronunciation is very important in foreign language learning. It

is not to say that students should sound exactly like an American or an

Englishman. However, it is obvious that a student should be able to pronounce

English words correctly to make others understand what he means to say to make

effective communication.

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E. Teaching English to Young Learners

According to Sarah Phillips in her book Young Learners, “young learners

means children from the first year of formal schooling (five or six years old) to

eleven or twelve years of age.” (Phillips, 1996:5)

Moreover, Wendy A. Scott and Lisbeth H. Ytreberg divide children into

two main groups throughout their book Teaching English to Children: the five to

seven year olds and the eight to ten year olds. (Scott and Ytreberg, 1998:1). In this

final project report, the writer writes about the teaching of English pronunciation

to the fifth grade students. So, they are more included in the group of the eight to

ten year old children. According to Wendy A. Scott and Lisbeth H. Ytreberg, the

characteristics of the eight to ten year old children are:

1. Their basic concepts are formed. They have very decided views of the world.

2. They can tell the difference between fact and fiction.

3. They ask questions all the time.

4. They rely on the spoken word as well as the physical world to convey and

understand meaning.

5. They are able to make some decisions about their own learning.

6. They have definite views about what they like and do not like doing.

7. They have a developed sense of fairness about what happens in the classroom

and begin to question the teacher’s decisions.

8. They are able to work with others and learn from others. (Scott and Ytreberg,

1998:3-4)

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Children are often more enthusiastic and lively as learners. They also tend

to learn a second language better than adults, as stated by Krashen (et.al.) in

Krashen who review the available empirical research on the effect of age and

second language acquisition and conclude that acquirers who begin natural

exposure to second languages during childhood generally achieve higher second

language proficiency than those beginning as adults. (Krashen (et.al.) in Krashen,

1995:43).

It is obvious that teaching English since students are still in elementary

school is highly recommended for the better mastery of English. In this case,

pronunciation is emphasized. Therefore, teaching English pronunciation to

elementary students is a good step to open a way for their English pronunciation

proficiency.

CHAPTER III

DISCUSSION

A. The Description of SDN Tempuran 1

SDN Tempuran 1 is located in Tempuran, Simo, Boyolali. It was built on

January 1, 1962 on the area of around 3000 meters square. The legalization of the

school was based on the Decision Letter of Local Government No: S.R./Kep/PDK

6/1/5.

There are thirteen rooms which can be divided into seven classrooms, one

headmaster office, one teacher office, one library, one teacher restroom, one

student restroom, and one canteen. There are also one sport area, one parking area,

and one garden. It is still located in a village so it is not too noisy and quite

comfortable for the process of teaching and learning.

SDN Tempuran 1 has vision and missions. The vision of SDN Tempuran 1

is creating religious students who are successful in mastering science, skill, and

technology for their bright future. While the missions of this school are:

1. Training students to faithfully do religious activities based on the religion they

embrace so that they will be good persons who have faith in God.

2. Guiding and facilitating students to study diligently so that they can become

clever students who master science and technology.

3. Guiding students to be active and to have high creativity and skill as their

essential parts to be successful in their future.

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Below is the map of SDN Tempuran 1:

Table 3.1

SDN Tempuran 1 is led by a headmaster. The duties of the headmaster are

as an educator, a manager, an administrator, a leader, an innovator, and a

motivator. This school also has eleven teachers consisting of six class teachers,

one Religion teacher, one Sport teacher, one English teacher, one Local Language

teacher, and one Art teacher. In addition to it, there is also one school guard.

SPORT AREA

Library

Student Restroom

Garden

Canteen 3 rd Class

4 th Class

Headmaster Office

Teacher Office

5 th Class

6 th Class

Teacher Restroom

2 nd Class 1 st Class Kinder Garten

Playing Ground

Parking Area

SPORT AREA

Library

Student Restroom

Garden

Canteen 3 rd Class

4 th Class

Headmaster Office

Teacher Office

5 th Class

6 th Class

Teacher Restroom

2 nd Class 1 st Class Kinder Garten

Playing Ground

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All of the teachers are responsible for the success of teaching and learning

process, especially as students’ guide, facilitator, and motivator. Each class has its

own teacher who organizes the class activities.

The number of male students in SDN Tempuran 1 is forty-three and the

number of female students is forty-eight. So, the total number of students studying

in SDN Tempuran 1 is ninety-one. The students are also responsible for the

success of teaching and learning process. So, both the teachers and the students

should be active for the sake of successful teaching and learning.

The structural organization of SDN Tempuran 1 can be drawn as follows:

Table 3.2

Headmaster

1 st Grade Teacher

2 nd Grade Teacher

3 rd Grade Teacher

4 th Grade Teacher

5 th Grade Teacher

6 th Grade Teacher

Religion Teacher

Sport Teacher

EnglishTeacher

Local Language Teacher

Art Teacher

Students School Guard

Society

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The teaching and learning activities are held from Sunday to Saturday at

07.00 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. except on Friday which ends at 11.00 a.m. There are also

some extracurricular available to give more skills to students, namely:

1. Scout.

2. Vocal.

3. Sport, such as football and volley ball.

B. The Job Training Activities

1. Class Observation

During the job training, the writer taught the fourth, the fifth, and the sixth

grade students of SDN Tempuran 1 from February 2, 2009 until March 11, 2009.

However, this final project only reports about the teaching of English

pronunciation to the fifth grade students. Before going further in explaining the

activities during the job training, it is necessary to describe the physical condition

of the fifth grade classroom.

The fifth grade classroom was comfortable and good enough for the

process of teaching and learning. This classroom was located right beside the

teacher office. There were ten tables and twenty-three chairs available for

students, one table and one chair for their teacher, one blackboard, one cupboard,

one clock, one map, one Indonesian flag, and some pictures. The class was clean

and had good air circulation.

There were twenty-three students studying in the fifth grade class. They

were ten male students and thirteen female students. Based on the writer’s

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observation, some students were active but some were passive. Some were

talkative, some were quiet, and few of them were also moody. Several students

seemed naturally enthusiastic about learning. But many of them needed the

writer’s stimulation and challenge when the teaching and learning process was

taking place. So, the writer had to have good ability to maintain the interest of the

students in the class because whatever level of motivation the students brought to

the classroom also depended much on what happened in the classroom.

2. Lesson Plan

Before teaching English to the fifth grade students, it was very important

to prepare the material first. The material preparation was making a lesson plan. A

lesson plan is a useful means that serves as a guide and should include three

crucial decisions: what to teach, how to teach it, and how to ensure that students

are learning what is being taught. Creating a lesson plan is also the key to

effective teaching in achieving positive students’ outcomes. Moreover, it can

avoid students from becoming bored. That is why, the writer was supposed to be

creative to apply a number of variations of activities to be used to teach them

English. In teaching the fifth grade students, the writer made a lesson plan by

giving more opportunities for students-centered learning in order to make them

acquire more language skills.

The lesson plan began with a brief description of the class, the students,

and the materials for example, the topic, the name of the class, the time allotment,

the objectives and so on. It was also important to add the date of the course.

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The lesson plan that the writer had made consisted of four steps, namely:

a. Motivating Strategy.

Motivating strategy was used to arouse the students’ motivation toward the

material. In this stage, the writer was supposed to make the conditions as

attractive and stimulating as possible.

b. Presentation Strategy.

Presentation strategy was used to give some explanations concerning the

day’s lesson in order to make the students understand about new things they

learned such as an explanation on grammar.

c. Skill Practice.

In this stage, the writer gave practices and activities to be done by the

students. It was to give more opportunities for students-centered learning in order

to make the students acquire more language skills from the lesson given. The

practices could be done individually or in groups.

d. Assessment.

Assessment was used to assess the final outcome of the lesson and to what

extent the learning objectives were achieved. It provided an opportunity for honest

reflection about what activities worked or did not work and why. It could be done

through quiz and usually done by independently performed worksheets.

3. Teaching and Learning Process

After making the lesson plan, the writer taught English systematically

based on the lesson plan she had made. The material used to teach the fifth grade

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students of SDN Tempuran 1 was from “Learning English Joyfully 2”, a book

published by Aneka Ilmu for the 5th grade primary school students. The allotted

time to teach English was 70 minutes.

During the teaching and learning process, the writer applied the Audio-

lingual method because the method relied heavily on drills to form habits. By

applying repetitive drills, the students were constantly learning. The example of

an Audio-lingual drill was like this:

Writer : “He is sleepy.” … repeat

Students : “He is sleepy.”

The teaching and learning process moved on step by step just like what the

writer had made in the lesson plan as follows:

First of all, motivating strategy was applied. In this stage, the writer began

the lesson by greeting the students, introducing the topic by showing some

pictures related to the topic, eliciting some vocabularies and writing them on the

blackboard, and mentioning the objectives of the lesson. Those activities were

successful in arousing and attracting the students’ motivation to learn English.

Second, the writer started presenting the material by explaining what had

been discussed before, for example: the writer used the writings on the board to

explain the grammar. However, she should be able to make the explanation easily

understood and avoid using difficult words to keep the students’ interest and

motivation.

Third, the writer used games in order to make the teaching and learning

process full of fun to the students. This stage was the most favorite stage for them.

19

Often, when the writer just began explaining them about the material, some of

them shouted to start playing games. That indicated that they liked playing games

so much. Most of them said that games were very effective to make them

understand more about the lesson being taught. Moreover, games were successful

enough to make them happy and not bored. Games were done in groups and

sometimes the writer made a competition so that the students got so excited to win

the game and get the rewards such as stars or candies.

The last one that the writer did was giving assessment to the students. It

was important to do this to check the students’ progress and to see how far the

mastery of the day’s lesson they had achieved. The students were supposed to do

the assessment individually. They usually did it by answering questions in

worksheets. Afterwards, the writer checked the answers with class.

C. Teaching English Pronunciation

During the job training, the writer taught English to the fifth grade

students every Tuesday and she used the material taken from “Learning English

Joyfully 2”. The topic was taken from Unit 13, namely about conditions. The

process of teaching English pronunciation can be divided into four steps as

follows:

1. Motivating Strategy.

Motivating strategy was the first step in teaching English pronunciation.

Firstly, the writer greeted the students and asked some questions as

follows:

20

Writer : “Good afternoon, students.”

Students : “Good afternoon, Mom.”

Writer : “How are you today?”

Students : “Fine, thank you. And how are you, Mom?”

Writer : “I am fine, too. Thank you.”

Secondly, the writer checked the students’ attendance.

Thirdly, the writer showed some pictures and asked the students some

questions related to the pictures as follows:

Writer : “Look at this picture. Is he cold?”

Students : “Yes, he is cold.”

Writer : “Is he sleepy?”

Students : “Yes, he is sleepy.”

The writer wrote the questions and the students’ answers on the board. She

also elicited more vocabularies by miming some actions.

Fourthly, the objectives of the lesson were told as follows:

Writer: “Today, we are learning about someone’s conditions. So, after this

lesson, you should be able to ask about someone’s condition and to give

information about someone’s condition.

2. Presentation Strategy.

The second step in teaching English pronunciation was presentation

strategy. In this stage, the writer gave two explanations, they were:

a. Explanation concerning the basics of English pronunciation, namely: sounds,

minimal pairs, stress, and intonation.

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Before the writer gave explanation, she distributed a piece of paper to each

student containing transcriptions of sounds, minimal pairs, stress, and intonation.

1) Sounds.

Sounds are divided into two. They are:

a) Vowel Sounds.

Vowel sounds are the syllable core, the sounds within the syllable that

resonate and can be lengthened or shortened. Vowels are articulated with a

relatively unobstructed airflow, i.e., there is usually no contact between

articulators.

Vowel sounds are all voiced and may be single (like /e/ as in pen) or a

combination, involving a movement from one vowel sound to another (like /e�/,

as in day). Such combinations are called diphthongs. Single sound may be short

(like /�/, as in sit) or long (like /i:/, as in eat).

There are 20 vowel sounds in English. They are:

1. /a:/ = arm /a:m/

2. /æ/ = apple /'æpәl/

3. /�/ = up /�p/

4. /�:/ = bird /b�:d/

5. /e/ = pen /pen/

6. /ə/ = ago /ə'gəƱ/

7. /i:/ = eat /i:t/

8. /�/ = sit /s�t/

9. /�:/ = more /m�:/

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10. /�/ = stop /st�p/

11. /u:/ = you /ju:/

12. /Ʊ/ = would /wƱd/

13. /a�/ = eye /a�/

14. /aƱ/ = out /aƱt/

15. /e�/ = day /de�/

16. /eə/ = wear /weə/

17. /��/ = boy /b��/

18. /əƱ/ = open /əƱpәn/

19. /�ə/ = near /n�ə/

20. /Ʊə/ = sure /sƱə/

Whenever the writer mentioned a vowel and a word, the students were

asked to repeat loudly after her.

b) Consonant Sounds.

Consonant sounds are characterized by place of articulation (where the

sound is made), manner of articulation (how the sound is made) and voicing

(whether the vocal cords are vibrating or not).

Consonant sounds can be divided into two, namely: voiced consonant

sounds (the sounds occur when the vocal cords in the larynx are vibrated, for

example /v/ in van) and unvoiced (voiceless) consonant sounds when there is no

vibration occurs for example /f/ in fan.

23

In English, there are 24 consonant sounds. They are:

1. /b/ = bed /bed/

2. /d/ = do /du:/

3. /f/ = fan /fæn/

4. /g/ = big /big/

5. /h/ = hat /hæt/

6. /j/ = yes /jes/

7. /k/ = cat /kæt/

8. /l/ = lose /lu:z/

9. /m/ = me /mi:/

10. /n/ = no /nəƱ/

11. /p/ = put /pƱt/

12. /r/ = run /r n/

13. /s/ = soon /su:n/

14. /t/ = talk /t :k/

15. /v/ = van /'væn/

16. /w/ = win /w n/

17. /z/ = zoo /zu:/

18. /ŋ/ = sing /s ŋ/

19. /θ/ = thin /θ /

20. /ð/ = then /ðen/

21. /∫/ = ship /∫ p/

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22. /�/ = measure /'me�ə/

23. /t∫/ = cheap /t∫ p/

24. /d�/ = June /d�u:n/

2) Minimal Pairs.

Minimal pairs are pairs of words from the same language that differ by

only one single sound, and that are recognized by speakers as being two different

words. Examples:

1. rat /ræt/ rot /r� /

2. pen /pen/ pan /pæn/

3. paper /pe�pə/ pepper /pepə/

4. bean /bi:n/ bin /b�n/

5. sheep /∫i:p/ ship /∫�p/

6. foot /fƱt/ food /fu:d/

7. pot /p�t/ port /p�:t/

8. cup /k�p/ carp /ka:p/

9. pull /pƱl/ pool /pu:l/

10. much /m�t∫/ march /ma:t∫/

3) Stress.

Stress is the term we use to describe the point in a word or phrase where

pitch changes, vowels lengthen, and volume increases. In a one-syllable word like

dance, students will not get any difficulty to pronounce it. However, a word with

more than one syllable is more complex, so the students should be taught to

25

pronounce English words correctly based on the stress usually symbolized with ( '

) sign in most dictionaries.

Examples:

English words with one stress.

Apple /'æpəl/

Mango / 'mæŋgəƱ/

English words with more than one stress.

Strawberry 'str 'ber /

Pineapple /'pa n'æpəl/

4) Intonation.

Intonation is a crucial factor in speaking. Intonation is used to convey

emotion, involvement, and empathy. It is also a way of modifying the strength or

intention of what we are saying by the different pattern of rising and falling tones.

Finally, we use intonation to show how certain we are about what we are saying

and to indicate what response we expect.

Examples:

You’re okay, aren’t you?

(With a falling tone to confirm what we believe to be the case)

You’re okay, aren’t you?

(With a rising tone to show our uncertainty about what the answer will be)

b. Short explanation concerning grammar which was based on the writings on

the board.

26

By using the writings on the board as shown below, the writer explained

the grammar applied.

Questions Answers

Is he sleepy? Yes, he is sleepy. Is she hungry? Yes, she is hungry. Are you sad? No, I am not sad. Are you happy? Yes, I am happy. Are you cold? No, I am not cold. Are you hot? Yes, I am hot. Is Asri thirsty? Yes, she is thirsty. Are you ill? No, I am not ill. Is Arif surprised? Yes, Arif is surprised.

Patterns of Simple Present Tense:

Interrogative sentence = To be (is/am/are) + Subject + Adjective

Affirmative sentence = Subject + to be (is/am/are) + Adjective

Negative Affirmative Sentence = Subject + to be (is/am/are) + not + Adjective

Table 3.3

3. Skill Practice

Skill practice was the third stage in the process of teaching English

pronunciation. In this stage, the writer made a fun game to be played by the

students in groups and a matching practice to be done in pairs.

a. Game

The students played “Find Someone Who” game. This is the procedure:

1. One student will get a card from the teacher.

2. The student must walk around the classroom and ask three friends

of the student about the condition written on the card.

3. The student should say, for example, “Are you hungry?”.

27

4. As soon as the student find one of his/her friends who answers

“Yes, I am hungry.” to one of the questions, the student should

write his/her name on the blanks of the card. He/she must not use

his/her name.

5. After one of the students has filled in all the blanks, the game

stops.

When the game was running, the writer supervised and gave the

correctness if the students made a mistake or mispronounced the words. The

students were very excited to play the game. The game being played also worked

well to make the students get motivated and attracted again after the explanation

session. It was also successful in making them understand more about the lesson

being taught.

b. Matching Practice

The students did a matching practice in pairs. In this practice, they should

match each picture with the correct word of condition shown in the picture. This

was the matching practice:

1. a. I am cold.

Picture 3.1

2. b. I am hungry.

Picture 3.2

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3.c. I am sad.

Picture 3.3

4. d. I am hot.

Picture 3.4

5. e. I am thirsty.

Picture 3.5

6. f. I am happy.

Picture 3.6

After all the students finished doing the practice, the writer checked the

answers with class and asked them to read the correct answers loudly.

4. Assessment

Assessment was the last step in teaching process. This was where the

writer assessed the final outcome of the lesson and to know if the learning

objectives were adequately achieved or not. It was to check the students’ progress

and to be used to determine the lesson for the next session.

29

In the assessment, the writer asked the students to rearrange jumbled

words into meaningful sentences. She asked them to do it individually. After all

the students had finished doing it, the writer checked the answers with class. This

was the assessment:

1. is-She-.-sad = 2. hungry-you-Are-? =3. ?-you-sleepy-Are =4. is-He-happy-. =5. ill-She-is-. =6. Oki-?-Is-surprised =

D. The Problems Faced by the Students in Learning English

Pronunciation

During the job training, the writer found some problems which were faced

by the fifth grade students in learning English pronunciation. These are the

problems:

1. The students’ difficulties in pronouncing English sounds and words.

When the explanations of kinds of English sounds and minimal pairs were

delivered, most students got difficulties in pronouncing them. These were the

examples:

a. The difficulty in pronouncing the two th sounds such as in thin /θ /

which was unvoiced and then /ðen/ which was voiced.

b. The difficulty in pronouncing the ∫ sound such as in ship /∫ p/.

c. The difficulty in pronouncing English vowels. In Indonesian, there are

only five vowels namely: /a/, /i/, /u/, /e/, /o/. So, the students got

30

difficulty in pronouncing the various kinds of vowels in English

sounds such as in /əƱ = open /əƱpәn/.

d. The difficulty in pronouncing consonant cluster (a group of consonants

that appear together in a word without any vowels between them) that

occurs at the end such as in cold /kəƱld/ and surprised /sər'pra sd/.

2. The limited materials and facilities.

Materials and facilities are important factors supporting the success of

English learning attainment. Materials such as books available were not

interesting enough. That was what made them bored easily when studying

English. Moreover, most students did not have proper dictionaries that could give

good contribution to their correct pronunciation.

Facilities were also lacking. It does not mean that the school has to have a

language laboratory. However, facilities that could be provided such as tape

recorders, cassettes, televisions, and video players were not available. The writer

found that the students were not supported by enough facilities other than teaching

using books.

3. The low students’ interest and motivation.

When the writer first taught the fifth grade students of SDN Tempuran 1, she

asked them whether or not they liked English and most of them said that they did

not like English. They had no interest in this subject. If the students had no

interest, it was inevitable that they had no motivation to study English and

resulting in the failure to reach the goals having been established.

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E. The Problem Solutions


The students should try to memorize English sounds so that they can know

and remember the way the sounds are pronounced whenever they see an English

word pronunciation in their dictionaries. They should also practice pronouncing

them as many as possible so that their tongues got accustomed to saying them. By

constantly doing those efforts, their pronunciation proficiency can gradually be

shaped and be achieved.

2. The limited materials and facilities.

To solve the problem of limited materials, the English teacher should

cooperate with the school to provide more books, especially interesting and

qualified books to support the success of teaching and learning process. The

students should also cooperate well with the English teacher, in case that they are

asked to buy additional books, they should respond well by buying the books.

Facilities should be provided for the sake of better achievement that the

students can get by using them such as tape recorders, cassettes, televisions, and

video players. Even though it may cost the school and the students to get benefit

from the facilities provided, the results that can be achieved are more important

and should be placed in the first place.

2. The low students’ interest and motivation.

Interest and motivation are very essential to an English learning

achievement because they are some kinds of internal drives which push someone

32

to learn in order to achieve something. To solve the problem, there are at least two

persons responsible for keeping the student’s interest and motivation. They are:

a. The English teacher.

English teacher is a major factor in the continuance of students’ interest

and motivation. That is why the English teacher should attempt to sustain the

students’ interest and motivation and have the ability to make interesting classes.

The writer found that one of the keys to success in learning English is a fun

teaching. This can be done by providing them with a variety of subjects and

exercises. For example: teaching using games and songs.

b. The students.

The students themselves are the key to arousing and keeping the interest

and motivation inside their hearts. By doing it, they will be active students inside

and outside class. Students who are highly motivated are likely to succeed in

mastering English because they will not give up on something hard or difficult

hindering their way to achieve their goals.

CHAPTER IV

CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

A. Conclusions

Based on the discussion in the previous chapter, there are several

conclusions that can be drawn as follows:

Firstly, in teaching English pronunciation to the fifth grade students of

SDN Tempuran 1, Simo, Boyolali, the writer made and used a lesson plan

consisting of four stages, namely:

1. Motivating Strategy.

In this stage, the writer tried to arouse the students’ motivation toward the

new material by showing some pictures related to the topic of the day’s lesson,

eliciting some vocabularies by asking some questions or miming some actions,

and mentioning the objectives of the lesson.

2. Presentation Strategy.

Presentation strategy was used to give some explanations, for example:

explanation on the basics of English pronunciation namely sounds, stress, and

intonation, and explanation on the grammar. In this stage, the students tended to

get bored easily. Therefore, it was very important for the writer to make the

explanation easily understood and to avoid using difficult words to keep their

interest and motivation.

33

34

3. Skill Practice.

This stage was used to give more opportunities for students-centered

learning. This was their most favorite stage because the writer gave some

practices and activities such as games and matching practice. They were quite

successful in attracting their motivation and in making them more understand on

the lesson being given after the students concentrated themselves on trying to

understand the explanation session.

4. Assessment.

This is the last stage that was used to assess the students’ final outcome of

the lesson and to know how far the learning objectives were achieved. Assessment

was supposed to be done individually.

Besides, when teaching English pronunciation to the fifth grade students,

the writer also applied the Audio-lingual method. The method was chosen because

it relied heavily on drills. By applying repetitive drills, the students were

constantly learning and finally got accustomed to pronouncing English words

correctly.

Secondly, based on the writer’s observation, she found some problems

faced by the students in learning English pronunciation. They were:


2. The limited materials and facilities which were needed to teach them English

such as the inappropriate dictionaries, the unavailability of televisions, video

players, tape recorders and so on.

3. The low students’ interest and motivation in learning English.

35

Thirdly, the writer thought of some solutions to the problems mentioned

above. They were:

1. The solutions on the students’ difficulties in pronouncing English sounds and

words. It could be done by the students’ own efforts to try to memorize

English sounds and to comprehend the way they are pronounced in English

words. They should also try to practice pronouncing English sounds and

speaking English words as many as possible to make them accustomed to

saying them.

2. The solutions on the limited materials and facilities. It could be done by

asking the students’ cooperation to buy more English books and appropriate

dictionaries supporting their teaching and learning process and by providing

the students with televisions, video players, tape recorders, and so on to make

the English lesson easier to master.

3. The solutions to the low students’ interest and motivation. It could be done by

the cooperation between the English teacher who should have the ability to

sustain the students’ interest and motivation by making interesting classes and

the students who should be responsible for keeping themselves highly

motivated in learning English.

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B. Suggestions

Based on the conclusions that have been presented previously, the writer

has some suggestions to some parties as follows:

1. SDN Tempuran 1, Simo, Boyolali.

The materials and facilities in SDN Tempuran 1 are not sufficient to

support the process of teaching and learning English. Therefore, it is important for

the school to provide more materials such as interesting English books and proper

dictionaries and to provide more facilities such as televisions, video players, tape

recorders, and so on. By providing those facilities, it is hoped that the students’

quality in mastering English can be improved.

2. The English Teacher of SDN Tempuran 1, Simo, Boyolali.

Teaching elementary students takes ability for the English teacher to have,

especially in giving lessons in fun and enjoyable ways in order to sustain their

interest and motivation. Since elementary students tend to get bored easily, the

English teacher should attempt to create some variations in teaching English such

as teaching using games and songs. Consequently, the students will not be

stressed and begin to relax which indirectly can affect their level of the day’s

lesson mastery.

3. The students of SDN Tempuran 1, Simo, Boyolali.

English is a foreign language to the students, so they are likely to be

confused and lazy to learn it. However, they have to know that mastering English

is very important for their future. It is an international language that is used to

37

communicate. Therefore, they should be highly motivated to learn English as well

as learning other subjects such as Mathematics, Biology, and so on.

4. English Diploma Students.

English Diploma students should prepare themselves well before teaching

elementary school students because they are young learners with some

characteristics such as moody, naughty, and noisy that can make English Diploma

students surprised and overwhelmed. Therefore, it is important to prepare both the

psychology and the material preparation well such as making a lesson plan

containing some variations to make the process of teaching and learning English

run smoothly.

38

BIBLIOGRAPHY

A. Scott, Wendy and Lisbeth H. Ytreberg. 1998. Teaching English to Children.

New York: Longman.

B. Klein, Stephen. 1996. Learning Principles and Applications. McGraw-Hill:

Mississippi State University.

Brown, H. Douglas. 2001. Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to

Language Pedagogy. New York: Addison Wesley Longman.

Brown, H. Douglas. 2007. Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. New

York: Addison Wesley Longman.

Celce-Murcia, Marianne (et.al.). 1996. Teaching Pronunciation: A Reference for

Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.

Celce-Murcia, Marianne. 2001. Teaching English as a Second or Foreign

Language. Boston: Heinle&Heinle.

Crawley, Angela. 2001. Oxford Elementary Learner’s Dictionary. Oxford:

Oxford University Press.

D. Krashen, Stephen. 1995. Principles and Practice in Second Language

Acquisition. London: Phoenix ELT.

Dalton, Christiane and Barbara Seidlhofer. 1995. Pronunciation. Oxford: Oxford

University Press.

Gadsby, Adam (et.al.). 1998. Longman Active Study Dictionary. Harlow:

Addison Wesley Longman.

N. Elliott (et.al.). 1999. Educational Psychology: Effective Teaching Effective

Learning. Madison: McGraw-Hill.

Phillips, Sarah. 1996. Young Learners. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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